Chapter 11

"Anthea will you please stop flittering about like an angry bee! It is most unbecoming and I daresay stressing to the rest of us."

"Well what do you expect me to do? Just look at this place! Your guests are arriving this evening, and there is still so much to be done!"

"Our guests, my love."

"No no Adair, your guests. I was not consulted before you invited them all here, yet I am the one who has had to do all the planning and preparations while you hide yourself away in your hovel doing business!" Anthea said, her voice growing louder as she drew closer to her husband.

"My dear, please calm yourself. You know very well that I had no choice in the matter if we wish for peace among the realms. Besides, you have overseen more than two hundred summer solstices before. I am more than confident in your abilities."

"You are quite right, my dear," she replied, an angry glint in her eyes belying her calm demeanor. "I have hosted many gatherings over the years, but you forget that I have never had to host outsiders before. Not to mention that I have had to move the celebration from our intimate grove to the meadow. It is most distressing that I have had to dispense with tradition."

Eavan watched his parents with amusement from the safety of a nearby tree as they continued to argue. Although he agreed with his mother regarding the frustration of having to invite outsiders to this sacred event, he believed his mother was being unreasonable. He knew that his father was only doing that which was necessary. He had been working with his father day and night writing up peace treaties over the past several months, as well as preparing for the diplomatic sessions that would occur in between festivities. His father had never been one to shirk his duties.

Sighing in disgust, he turned away from the meadow as his father grasped his mother's shoulders in a gentle manner to calm and comfort her. He knew what would follow would be an intimate embrace as his father would whisper words of love and admiration in her ear. As a child he had found such a display to be endearing; as he had grown older though, it only further reaffirmed his decision to never let a woman rule his life.

As he had now to come to expect, the image of his elfish friend swam before his eyes. Every time he had expressed to himself or others his desire to remain unattached throughout his life, he saw her; her emerald eyes shining with dancing gold flecks, her long auburn hair pulled back into a single plait down her back, her petit figure dancing merrily in their grove.

It had been two and a half years since he had first met Iliana, and he was convinced she had placed some sort of spell over him. Their first meeting had been quite unpleasant, both leaving the forest convinced of the other's pride and arrogance, yet after their meeting in the storm, something had changed between them.

They had met again the next spring as he came upon her helping a mother brown bear coax her cubs from their winter den.* Mesmerized, he sat hidden among a patch of wildflowers as he watched her play with the young cubs under the protective watch of the mother bear. When the family moved on, he was surprised to see her look around the meadow until her gaze rested upon the flowers. With an eyebrow raised in amusement, she called out to him in greeting. He quickly grew to match her in size, and bowed in return.

When asked how she knew it was him when it could have been any magical being, she simply laughed and replied that only the arrogant fairy prince would watch her in such a brazen manner. At first insulted that she would believe him capable of wishing to enchant a woman, especially one from another race, he quickly sobered and began to laugh when she reminded him of his disastrous attempt to brag of his prowess over the fairer sex. Before long, their conversation turned to their doings over the winter and the fortuitous event of their meeting once again.

He learned that day, that although a woman, she held many responsibilities among her people. Every spring she went out to help record the number of animals across the land, in the summer she was sent to train said animals. During the autumn she hunted those unable to last the winter in order to feed her people, and in the winter she assisted at home in caring and teaching the younglings who would one day join her and the others who traveled the land.

Amazed that a woman was capable of leaving her home forest and doing what was considered a man's work, he made the mistake of expressing his doubts of the wisdom of her having such responsibilities out loud. Without warning, he had once again suddenly found himself hanging upside down with his arms and legs spread out and secured by branches with an arrow aimed at his chest. The conversation that followed was one he could never forget.

"You are foolish if you believe your trick will work twice, especially since you have told me that I have the power to escape you."

"I am not the foolish one here; you are milord."

"I fail to see your reasoning, Ellette." He had stated stressing out the name he had given her and knew she despised.

"It is simple Your Highness," she had replied relishing in watching him squirm in response to his formal title. "Firstly, by finding yourself in this position, you have insulted one who is in power to help your peoples cause. I understand that the other races are less than pleased at the fairies' withdrawal from all others without explanation, the elves at the forefront as you have left us to deal with the others. I may be only a woman, but the fact that I am allowed to hold such responsibilities goes to prove my worthiness and the trust my Queen has in me. Perhaps you have forgotten that we are ruled by a woman. Secondly, if you attempt to escape, it only goes to show that you are nothing more than a coward which in and of itself is foolishness. So what is it to be milord; your pride in being a man, or your prejudice against those who have bested you?"

Reluctantly, Eavan had admitted that he had indeed been in ignorance and as such spoke hastily. What he could never admit to her, or even himself, was how much her words and accusations had wounded him. He had always bemoaned his fate, desiring a quiet life away from the spotlight. He dreaded what would happen if something were to befall his father thus forcing him to take the throne. What she had said was true, he was puffed up in his pride, although he claimed to hide away from it. In reality, unlike her, who had willingly taken on responsibilities usually given to a man, he had taken on his own duties as an escape from those who wished to impress themselves upon him in order to advance their own standing.

The rest of their time spent that meeting passed in awkward conversation after he had been released from his deciduous captors. When she begged his forgiveness for needing to leave, he had reached out to stay her by grabbing her hand. Confused at his own actions, he had looked up into her eyes and noticed a slight fear behind her hesitancy in staying. He had quickly dropped her hand as though it had burned him before stuttering an apology for his earlier words.

"I must beseech you to f...to forgive me for my earlier words. I...I was simply amazed that a woman such as yourself would have willingly taken on such tasks as you have. I have always thought women preferred to sit at home and involve themselves in domestic activities. I did allow my pride in my sex and my prejudice against other races blind me to your true potential and abilities, and I humbly ask you to forgive me."

Without looking at him, she had replied, "While it is true that I am the only woman besides our Queen who willingly ventures outside our home forest, I will not deny the hurt your words gave me, yet I cannot withhold my forgiveness. You have always spoken honestly to me, something few others have ever done, and none of them are men. Do not think me incapable of performing domestic duties as I am quite learned in the arts of women, yet I cannot sit idly by while the men are allowed to do that which I love above all else."

Hesitantly, he had taken a step towards her, and using his forefinger, lifted her chin so that her eyes met his. "Your stubbornness and determination remind me of my mother. I should have never doubted you or your desires to serve your people honorably. I have heard my mother bemoan her fate as a woman before, wishing she could do more, as well as seen her attempts to move the fairer sex to take on more active duties. After all, she claims that what we fairies consider a man's task, to the rest of the world would be seen as a woman's duties." Chuckling at the confused look upon her face he had continued. "It is our duty as fairies to give and protect life in the world. We grow the plants, we place the dew every morning, we create the rainbows in the sky and give color to the world; we men beautify the earth with flowers while all our women do is make clothes, raise the younglings and gossip. What my mother would not give to have more such women in the world like you."

She had openly laughed at the ironic picture he had described to her, and she teased him about having such a strong woman as his mother. Pleased that all seemed right between the two of them once again, he refused to acknowledge the increased beating of his heart. Bowing to her, he took her hand once again and lifted it to his mouth for a brief kiss in goodbye. As she turned to leave once more, she had stopped to address him one last time.

"Thrice now we have met accidentally, and yet I feel as though it is no accident. I spoke honestly when I said that few have been as open with me as you have been despite our wretched beginning, and I find myself loath to part from you not knowing when I might see you again. Would it be too much to ask, milord, if I might call you friend and arrange to meet you again when next I leave the forest?"

He had willingly agreed, with one condition; he wished to be taught how to use his magic on the trees to do more than change the colors of their leaves. When asked to clarify, he stated much to her amusement that he had no desire to ever again find himself a prisoner wrapped in branches.

And so it was that they found themselves at the change of every season meeting at what they had come to refer to as their grove; the grove where they had first set aside their differences and became friends. They both always hurried through their duties, and spent two days together before returning home. Every time they met, they would share the happenings in their lives since their last meeting as well as stories from their past. Although she never shared anything about her family, he came to learn the she was a much respected personage among the elves.

Over time, he had finally learned how to read and influence the trees under her tutelage, yet seemed unable to simply bend them to his will as she was capable of doing. In return, he had taught her how to change the colors of a flower and to direct the path that water took. He was always amazed that as a woman, she struggled with the gentle and flowing movements that were required of fairy magic. Elfish magic was very structured, never changing, and as such required harsh sharp movements; it was in every way different.

At their last meeting, she had been so frustrated at her lack of success that she had moved her hands too sharply and accidentally cut of the heads of an entire grove of flowers. Horrified at what she had done, she had knelt down among the wreckage and began to openly weep into her hands. Wishing to offer her comfort, he had knelt down behind her and pulled her hands away from her face. When she tried to pull away, he had simply gripped her hands harder and told her to trust him and close her eyes.

Quietly he had whispered in her ears, telling her to listen. "Every plant and every creature has a life, a melody, all blending together into one perfect harmony." He had explained. "Listen closely, and you can hear their song. It is through this music that we can see the world's beauty."

After several moments of quiet contemplation, she had spoken. "I can hear something, but it is so faint. Such a melancholy sound, and it is entirely my fault."

"Shush now, Ellette. The true beauty of life is that it never actually ends. It always goes on somehow. Yes, there is a sadness and despair to the sound, but if you listen closer, there is hope. Search for that hope, and bring that melody to the forefront."

"But how? I can hear it, yet I know not how to call out to it."

"Lead it, draw it out. It has its own rhythm. The plants may be the musicians, yet you are the one who leads them and determines the direction they will take. That is what we fairies do."

Slowly, he had begun to guide her hands in a gentle wave, starting out small, yet growing larger as more and more voices of hope rang out from the grove. Within moments, the sound of hope had turned into one of determination, and then one of elation.

Releasing her hands, he once more whispered in her ear to open her eyes. Amazed, she had looked out upon the grove and saw the most incredible display of wildflowers dancing in the breeze. Tears of sorrow quickly turned into tears of joy as she had begun to dance in time to the rhythm of the flowers. Eavan had watched from the outskirts in contentment, allowing himself to indulge in her own joy. Never before had he felt such a pull towards another being as he did at that time to her.

Eventually, it had been time to leave and she had bestowed a kiss upon his cheek in gratitude then fled into the distance before he had had time to kiss her hand in goodbye as had become customary.

Walking away from the meadow where they were soon to receive guests, Eavan brushed his hand along his cheek where she had kissed him. He had returned from that trip in a daze, and almost told his father about the woman who was slowly destroying his defenses against the fairer sex. Upon realizing the effect she was having upon him, he had been more determined than ever that he would never give his heart to a woman, and focused more than ever upon his work.

War had been threatened among the magical realms, as the druids were growing in population and power. Many feared that with the quick withdrawal of the fairies, they were in league with those who had stolen the sorcerers' powers. As the most powerful of all the beings, the fairies were confident in their abilities to withstand any attack on their peace, yet Adair wished to avoid confrontation. In an effort to prove his good intentions, he had extended an invitation to the leaders of all the other realms to join the fairies for their summer solstice celebrations, the most sacred of times for the fairies.

Due to all the needed preparations, Eavan has not been allowed to leave to prepare the land for summer, and had been unable to meet with Iliana. He had worried incessantly at how she would have reacted upon his never appearing at their grove, hoping that upon meeting in the autumn she would set aside any anger and disappointment to forgive him. It was possible, he had considered, that she would be well aware of the upcoming event and as such realize that he was unable to attend her due to his duties at home. However, even though he knew her to be trusted by the elfish queen, he knew nothing of her position in life, so was unaware of how much she would be privy to.

Sighing in frustration, Eavan forced his thoughts away from her, telling himself that with all the guests coming tonight, he would need to be courteous to all. He despised large crowds, and was never comfortable among his own people, let alone hundreds of those unknown to him.

Upon hearing voices intruding his solitude and not wishing to interact with anyone at the present moment, Eavan quickly flew up into the tree tops and wandered away from the home tree. For not the first time since he had met Iliana, he considered how ironic it was that the fairies lived in a large tree while it was the elves who alone could control the trees.

As he continued to fly, he decided that he might as well do something useful in order to avoid his mother's wrath. Coming upon a second meadow, he landed amongst a huge collection of colored tents. For days, the many realms had sent servants with tents, luggage, and furnishings in order that all might be prepared for the arrival of the esteemed guests. Unconsciously, Eavan found himself wandering towards the group of green tents belonging to the elves, wondering if she was to be among the arriving party.

"My lord."

Surprised, Eavan turned sharply to see his father's man Damon bowing to him. Nodding his head in acknowledgement, he indicated that the man should give him the message he was sent to give.

"The first guests have been spotted approaching the valley, sire. Their Majesties request that you return to the home tree to ready yourself for their arrival."

"Thank you, I shall be right there."

Bowing, Damon quickly flew off, leaving Eavan alone once more. With yet another large sigh, he rolled his shoulders back in dreaded anticipation of the events to come, and flew off home.

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"His Royal Majesty, King Adair, Her Royal Majesty, Queen Anthea, and His Royal Highness, Prince Eavan. To you I introduce Her Royal Majesty, Queen Lareina of the elves."

For what felt like an insufferable amount of time, Eavan had stood silently beside his parents bowing to all the arrivals in greeting. Although he had assisted his father in extending the invitation to all the realms, he had been overwhelmed at the sheer amount of guests. Giants, dwarves, sprites, pixies, brownies, goblins, ogres, and numerous others had already arrived. Guest after guest, Eavan continued to do his duty, letting his mind wander and not truly giving the arrivals his full attention. Thus he was brought from his reverie by Damon's introduction of the elfish queen of whom he had heard so much.

Bowing deeply to her, he sincerely welcomed her and her guests to their home before realizing his mistake. Both his parents and Damon looked upon him in confusion, for it was the first time that evening that he had shown any interest in the arrivals. Not wishing to let their guests know his concern for his son's actions, Adair quickly stepped forward and bestowed a kiss upon Lareina's outstretched hand.

"Lareina my dear! It has been far too long since we have had the pleasure of your company. I cannot tell you how happy I was to hear that you had accepted our invitation to join us."

"How could I resist, Adair? I must say you have been very mysterious in your dealings with us ever since the war with the druids and your disappearance. You gave us much concern; after all, you were once our greatest allies."

"And so we still are. I hope you will forgive me, My Lady, when you have heard what we have recently discovered."

"And just how recent is that Adair?" She asked as she regarded him with a raised eyebrow, causing Eavan to start. He knew that look as it was the same one Iliana often bestowed upon him. "For I dare not hope you have kept too many secrets to yourself that might be of benefit to the rest of us." She finished.

Bowing to her, Adair replied, "indeed not. I can safely promise you Lareina that I have been the most forthcoming with you. You are the only one here whom we truly trust, and as such, I hope we can rely upon your assistance in placating the others."

"We shall see, Adair. Despite your flattering words, I can see the truth in your eyes. I know that you would not purposefully deceive us despite what some of my advisors may claim." As she finished her speech, Eavan's eyes were drawn to the man standing the closest to her as he shifted nervously. Perhaps this man was one of her advisors against the allying with the fairies. Before he could contemplate on that thought, however, Eavan noticed a young woman standing directly behind the queen. She had a dark green cloak drawn around her shoulders and fastened with a gold leaf at her neck. Her hood was also up and her gaze on the ground thus making it hard for Eavan to glimpse her face. Despite all this, he felt she looked familiar.

Noticing Eavan's gaze, the elf queen chuckled and apologized for having monopolized the greeting thus far. "You must allow me to introduce to you my companions, Adair. Many of those here with me today are members of our council who I am sure you remember, as well as their families."

As she introduced all but the man and young woman Eavan noticed to his parents, he noticed a smirk of amusement upon the young woman's face, while her older companion struggled to contain a sneer of impatience. When all the others had been introduced and dismissed, Lareina finally turned towards her two companions.

"Adair, Anthea, it is my greatest pleasure to now introduce to you my brother-in-law Varen and my niece, Lady Iliana."

Shocked, Eavan watched as the young woman stepped forward pulling down her hood and executing a perfect curtsey. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance at last, your majesties. I have heard much about you and have been most anxious to express our gratitude to you for your kind invitation."

Shooting a confused look at the shock and anger suffusing her sons face, Anthea stepped forward to greet the young lady properly. "It is our pleasure to have you here with us, My Lady. I hope that you and your father will feel as welcome here as your aunt."

"Indeed, Madam, I am very looking forward to our time here with much pleasure." She replied sending a knowing look towards Eavan.

As he watched her eyes laugh at his discomfort, he struggled to keep himself from expressing his anger with her. She knew who he was and how uncomfortable he was around others, yet she never once bothered to mention that she was the niece of the elfish queen. Fuming, he considered that she could at least have had some compassion on him and spared him the humiliation of acting like a blathering idiot in front of their relations. Instead, her amusement continued to grow.

With a sharp bow in her direction, he welcomed her and her father to their home then quickly dismissed himself before flying away from the group as fast as he could towards the spring where he knew he could remain undisturbed for some time. However, he could not fail to over hear his mother asking his father what he was about and his father's amused reply that he did not know. Yet despite his father's words, Eavan did not believe him.

Every time he had returned from a trip, his father asked the same question with a knowing glint in his eye; "Did anything else occur on your travels that I should be aware of?" Every time Eavan answered his father in the negative, unsure as to why he felt the need to hide his friendship with her. His father was an intelligent man, and he was sure would soon figure out his connection with the Lady Iliana.

Sitting down upon a rock overlooking the spring, Eavan picked up a nearby twig, and began to draw in the dirt with it as he worked to clamp down on his internal struggles. Having seen here her, in his home, he was no longer able to deny the claim she had on his heart. His anger with her was further testament of that. This knowledge, however, only served to further infuriate him. He had no wish to fall in love, let alone with an elf. He knew his duty, and if he was to marry, it would have to be to a member of his own race. Heedless of this, his desire would not be easily overcome.

Eavan was not sure how long he had sat there when he heard the rustling of the grass behind him. Standing, he turned expecting to see either his mother or his father. Instead he was surprised to find none other than Iliana standing before him with a shocked expression of her own.

He knew that he should bow, or at least offer her his seat, yet he was unable to tear his eyes from her. Gone was the long braid, loose tunic, leggings and knee high boots he had become accustomed to seeing her in. Instead she was clad in a long flowing green dress that matched her eyes. The bodice was cut low and tight to accentuate her ample bosom, while her long, loose sleeves hung off of her pale shoulders. The skirt was split in front to reveal a gold underskirt and wrapped behind her in a long train. Her auburn hair hung free in loose ringlets held back from her face by a gold band encircling her brow. He knew then that she was the most beautiful thing he had ever beheld, let alone the most beautiful woman.

Shifting uncomfortably under his bold gaze, she quickly squared her shoulders in what he knew was an attempt to compose herself and began to speak. "I must beg your forgiveness for intruding upon, your solitude your highness. If I had known you were to be here along this path, I would have asked your father for different directions."

Knitting his brows in confusion, Eavan tore his eyes from her luscious lips to look in her eyes for the truth of her words. "My father sent you this way?"

"Indeed he did," she said with a nervous chuckle darting her eyes away from his only to be arrested by the sight of his own tight tunic which matched his eyes and accentuated his own imposing muscular physique. Glancing away with an embarrassed blush creeping up her neck she continued. "As we were the last of your guests to arrive, your parents were kind enough to escort us to our tents. He and my aunt have always been close friends and allies, and I believe the separation of our people for the past few years have been hard on them both. Upon arriving at our tents, however, I expressed a desire to walk and explore with your father's permission. He had been quite happy to point me in this direction. I am sure if he had known you were here he would have suggested another way."

"I beg to differ, My Lady, I believe my father knew exactly what he was doing." Eavan said unable to contain his sneer.

"Oh!" Having heard the accusation towards her, as well as the implication regarding his father, Iliana looked down towards the ground. "That would perhaps then explain your mother's attempt at directing me elsewhere before your father shushed her and led her away. Is he...is your father aware of our past encounters, milord?"

"No, I have told him nothing, although I knew him to suspect something unusual to have been occurring during my trips away. However, after our introduction back there, I am sure he is now aware of the nature of our previous acquaintance."

"I see," she said as she twisted her hands. "I..."

"If there is nothing else, My Lady, I beg you would excuse me as I have other guests to attend to." He said cutting her off. As he started to walk by her though, she stepped in front of him, effectively blocking his way.

"Eavan please! I am sorry. It was wrong of me to act as I did by making fun at your expense. I had asked my aunt to save mine and my father's introductions for last; I did not mean to upset you."

Despite the fact that she had called him by his given name for the first time, he found his anger towards her only growing. "Why did you not tell me who you are? I have been nothing but open and honest with you from the very beginning. Could you not at least repay me that courtesy?" he demanded.

"Would it have made any difference?" She replied, her own anger showing in her eyes. "At the very beginning you gave me no reason to trust you. You were full of disdain towards everyone whom you considered beneath you, including me. I was nothing more than an ignorant youngling and a silly woman. If I had told you I was also of royal blood, you would have found yet another way to insult me." Seeing the defeat in his eyes, she took a step back in disgust and said, "I see. Well then, milord; forgive me for having taken up so much of your time, and accept my best wishes for your happiness."

As she turned to leave, he saw a tear escape her eye, and his resolve to be angry with her broke. "Iliana, wait." Surprise at hearing her name caused her look back in wonderment. Stepping in front of her so that he faced her, he reached down and took both her hands in his. "I am the one who must beg your forgiveness. You are right. I was condescending and rude to you. Despite all your efforts, we usually have at least one heated argument every time we meet, usually begun by my own selfish pride. I beg of you, please do not withdraw from me. You and you alone, are my only friend. You have shown me the errors of my way, but I am still struggling. I am trying to be a better man so that you would in turn be proud to call me your friend. I have no reason to be angry at you when it has been my own pride that has kept you from truly trusting me. You might say I have been kinder towards you in forgiveness than I have been towards myself."

"Oh Eavan, I am proud to call you my friend. I have few others in my life that I truly care about, and over the past two years you have joined their numbers. I wanted to tell…in fact I was going to tell you a few weeks ago, but you never came. The first day I worried that you had been detained but by the end of the second day, when you did not show, I worried that you had no desire to see me. When I was informed that I was to accompany my aunt and be a member of her party for our time here, I knew that your finding out who I am was unavoidable. Still I was angry with you, and as such, wished to hide my hurt through amusement. When I saw the hurt on your own face, I knew then that I had made a terrible mistake."

Reaching up, he brushed the tears now falling freely down her cheeks. "I was unable to leave due to preparations for the solstice so had to assign my duties to another. If I had known you would feel abandoned, I would have sent you a message. I assumed you would have heard of the invitations to the other realms and realized I could not leave. Forgive me?"

Leaning into the hand cupping her face, Iliana looked up into his own eyes brimming with unshed tears. "I believe you once told me that you do not care for my repentant attitude, and I must say I agree with you. Let us agree that we both have had our fair share of the blame and put this mess behind us."

"Very well, Ellette. I agree and now all is forgotten."

"Must you continue to call me Ellette? I much preferred hearing you call me by my given name."

Throwing his head back in laughter, he sent a silent thank you to his father for sending her his way instead of letting him wallow in anger. "Indeed, you have a beautiful given name that suits you perfectly, yet I find I much prefer calling you by a name no one else calls you. It makes our friendship that much more unique and meaningful."

"In that case, milord, what do you suggest we do next?"

Looking down at her mischievous smile, Eavan had the sudden urge to kiss her with his new realization of his love for her. Yet despite his claim to her friendship, he knew he could never have her hand in marriage. They were from two separate realms, and as such it could never be. Instead of giving in to his whims, he took a step back and gave her a mocking bow. "Perhaps the kind Lady would allow me to escort her on a personal tour of the area?"

Joining in his laughter, she gratefully accepted his arm and allowed him to lead her away.

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"Will there be anything else, Mr. Darcy?"

"No, no, Anderson that will be all. Do not wait up for me as I expect the ball to be quite late. I can take care of myself tonight."

"Very well, sir," his valet said. "I bid you goodnight, sir."

"Goodnight Anderson."

As soon as his valet closed the door to his dressing room, Darcy collapsed on the sofa nearby. Although he was indeed quite anxious for the evening, he had become frustrated with his valets ministrations. The man had been in his service since before his father, George Darcy, had died, and as such was aware that Darcy had been acting strangely since coming to Meryton. It had not taken long for Anderson to realize that perhaps a young lady was involved, and as such attempted to make sure Darcy looked his absolute best for the Netherfield ball.

Dressed in his best black evening jacket and breeches with a dark blue waistcoat, Darcy had to admit that he had never looked better. For once, his unruly curly hair was held in place by a concoction whose ingredients he had no desire to know. His stark white cravat had been pressed and tied to perfection while his shoes were so polished Darcy was sure they would glow in the lit ballroom.

Nervous, and not wishing to crease his clothes before dancing, he began to pace his room. It had been five days since he had last seen his beloved. He had hoped after his confrontation with Wickham to have escaped Netherfield to determine whether the Bennet's had heard the latest news from town. However, due to the continued rain, he worried that they would have received no visitors and thus no new knowledge regarding Wickham's fall. This worried Darcy to the point of distraction. Bingley had been quite concerned for his friend.

Despite the possibility that Miss Elizabeth had yet to hear the news, he was certain that it would be talked about at the ball. Such a scandalous topic never went unheard of among such a large gathering. She was sure to hear about it from someone.

Although at the time he had been hesitant to brag of his good deeds where Wickham was involved, Darcy was hopeful that word of his actions would also be spread, thus increasing his favor among the neighborhood. He was hopeful that tonight would be the night he finally could apologize to her and start her on the path to regaining her memories.

Downing a small glass of brandy to calm his nerves, Darcy checked his appearance in the mirror one last time before leaving his room.


*Although wild bears can no longer be found in Britain, research has indicated that brown bears were commonly found in the British Isles until around 1000 ad when they had been hunted to extinction in that area. Eavan and Iliana's original story takes place early to mid 6th century about 20 years after the death of King Arthur.

AN: I cannot tell you all how awful I feel! Last week I told you that I had hoped never to make you wait so long for another chapter, and yet here I am, a week later, finally posting again. I had set aside Friday and Saturday to write and post, when I unexpectedly received 2 boxes of apples that needed to be used up right away. Needless to say, after finally finishing my canning yesterday I am sick of apples right now; but I do have plenty of applesauce, apple butter, and dried apples to last me awhile. That having been said, I am already working on the next chapter and, bar any disasters happening, should have it up Thursday afternoon. So again, I apologize for the wait. Thanks for your reviews, and your patience! - Allahteeah